Scarlet Haze
by Lucid-Dreams x
Summary: Kaname attempts to push the co-existence movement further by accepting students from another pureblood's syndeo, and Zero's bloodlust is starting to take the reins of his waning control... AU based on Blackened Wing's duet series. Eventual ZxK, KxZ.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer= **I don't own Vampire Knight, and this story is more loosely based on Blackened Wing's stories. Some aspects of the story, such as syndeos, etc. are all from her amazing imagination. =)

Also, this is the first story I've ever tried to write, so constructive criticism is welcomed. =3

_The fear was overwhelming, freezing him, leaving him humiliatingly helpless. He longed for the safety of his parents arms, but they were too far away. He couldn__'__t unglue his feet from the muddy ground, though he wished to go to them, to warn them. Whether she was rendering him like this by imposing her will upon him, or merely through the sheer terror she conjured inside him, he didn__'__t know. It could surely be either, for he knew now, now that it was too late, that she was a pureblood. _

_All he could do was look at her, look at her stunning beauty as she swept forward, elegance and grace etched into each and every step. She moved like the predator that he knew her to be, slowly, and somehow sensually. Her long wave of beautiful hair fanned out behind her, glittering prettily in the silver glow of the moon that rose up around her like a halo. Her eyes were enchanting, big round orbs full of anger and hate and ecstasy as they focused on her prey. To his surprise, her eyes were completely devoid of the scarlet that would signal bloodlust, though it was clear she would be feasting on him regardless. _

_Her presence was suddenly before him, filling his world, and still he could not will his feet to move or his lips to sound an alarm to his parents. If he could alert them now, perhaps they could arm themselves, save themselves and his brother, but he was too weak. One of her long, slender arms slipped around his back, pulling him towards her. _

_She did not bite him straight away, instead she held him close, and nuzzled her face into his slender shoulder. Panic tore the breath from his lungs, curling icy tendrils up his back as her perfect lips met the perspiration soaked skin of his neck, parting briefly to allow the hard points of her ivory fangs to hover provocatively close to piercing him. _

_A small sound escaped from her, something between a moan of longing and a sickening hint of laughter, and then the barely held pretence of patience evaporated. She swept forward, claiming his neck fully in one swift movement. Her fangs were buried impossibly deep in his throat, and he let out a shuddering gasp as his humanity was stolen from him forever. The intensity of his pain grasped him violently. Suddenly his vocal cords released, and he found that he was screaming, voice high-pitched and shrill, childlike. His body was back under his control, but it was too late. Now that he was in her vice-like grasp all he could achieve was a slight wriggle that only bowed his head, giving her easier access to his neck._

_The hauntingly beautiful woman withdrew her teeth from him, and he struggled against her, though he knew that his actions were pointless. She uttered a tinkling, musical laugh that sent another shudder of terror crawling up his spine. Her slim fingers twined in his hair, and then she was on him again, this time raking her teeth right through his aching flesh in two parallel lines of deep crimson. Her other arm was wrapped around him, holding his body to hers while she mauled him, tearing at his sensitive wounds. _

_It was obvious to him by now that she was not looking to feed. Thick, tacky blood was trailing down into the hollow of his collar bone and over his chest, and she was making no attempt to control the flow. Perhaps she wasn__'__t even going to kill him. That thought prompted an almost overpowering surge of total horror; if he survived he__'__d end up a vampire. One of the filthy, insane parasites that his family lived to eradicate. _

Oh God… I hope she does kill me…

_Light had left his life, there was no hope. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable whilst her fangs ripped and tore, his chest shuddering in despair. _

_The grass was damp and tickly against his face as he fell heavily to the ground. He kept his eyes closed, expecting her to follow him down and continue her barrage of harsh, rending bites. Her body did not find his, and he hesitantly allowed his eyes to flutter open. The vampire was no longer standing before him. He twisted his body, lilac eyes searching, one hand clamped over the centre of molten agony that once was his neck._

_There was a resounding crack of gunfire, and another burst of melodious laughter from the pureblood. He tried to sit up, to see what was happening, to find his parents, but he couldn__'__t lift his head from the ground. His vision swam, blurring at the edges. The pain in his throat was evolving, flowing inward, coursing through him right to his fingertips. The sensation was that of many red-hot, pointy needles searching through him, turning the internal switch inside him from __'__human__'__ to __'__vampire__'__. _

Zero awoke from the dream tangled in his bedclothes and gasping in small, pitiful sobs. His chest was so tight, constricted with bloodlust as he relived that disgusting memory for what felt like the millionth time. It seemed to hover there at the back of his mind, just waiting for him to close his eyes so it could release the hideous pain all over again, each and every night. He sat up slowly, wrapping both arms around his chest as though to physically hold back the bloodlust that was clamouring through him.

The loud chiming bells hollered, signalling the first of Zero's lessons, but he couldn't leave his dorm. He knew that the lilac in his eyes would have been completely dissolved by the crimson that was battling for his already tenuous control. He took a deep breath through his nose, attempting frantically to grab the reins on his aching need before it was completely beyond his ability to do so. His fangs were fully aroused, two sharp points digging into his trembling lower lip. They were throbbing painfully, a sensation that he was not yet accustomed to, and one he hoped would never feel natural to him.

Every day was bringing him closer toward the madness that lurked patiently in the darkness of his soul, waiting to destroy him when he finally slipped. He hugged himself tighter. He could _feel_ it, and it scared him. He no longer cared what happened to himself, not since he had been turned, ripped bodily from the life he had always expected to have and into the miserable hell it was now. What really scared him, however, was that if he did fall to a level E that he would hurt, or, God forbid, actually _kill_ Yuuki, the solitary ray of light in this black world.

Another pathetic sob escaped from him, followed by a surge of his intense self hatred. He was still herding his bloodlust, pressing it urgently backwards to where he could maintain his hold over it. Eventually his canines began to recede, and though he couldn't see them, he was sure the lilac had crept grudgingly back into his eyes. He bowed his head, forehead leaning against his knees, exhausted at the effort he'd exerted into controlling himself. Sweat was beading on his pale skin, gliding softly through his silver hair, gluing it to his face.

It disgusted him how hard it was getting to push these urges from his mind. It had never been easy, of course, but recently his need for blood was spiking. He'd all but drained Yuuki two nights ago, and yet the bloodlust was back already. Zero's desperation had been so strong last night that he'd forced some of the horrible chalky blood-tablets down, in such a state that he'd simply swallowed them dry. They had reacted with his system just as violently as the first time he had tried them, and though he wished there was some other way, it seemed like Yuuki was his only blood source at the moment.

He wondered briefly how long it would take her to give up on him, to realize his time was up. He wondered how she'd feel when he died. Her damn pureblood had better look after her, Zero thought with blossoming anger.

But of course he wouldn't, he'd end up turning her. That's what purebloods _did, _after all. That was his reason to live; he had to protect her from her darling pureblood, before she found out the hard way what his true nature was. His expression darkened as his ire expanded, but with it, so did his sense of purpose.

Now that he had stifled his bloodlust, if only momentarily, he decided to finally lever himself of off the bed and out of his sea of self-pity. Yuuki needed him, he would be strong, for her.

Aido searched through the thick wall of books he'd ended up surrounding himself with. The young noble was reclining on one of the chairs in the Moon dorm's library, even though the first rays of the morning sun were beginning to peek through the somewhat overcast sky. He hated having to stay up during the day, but Kaname had requested a report from him. It was true that the pureblood had asked him to bring it to him sometime next week, but Aido reasoned that the older vampire would be even happier if he had it compiled before sundown. Kaname had sounded unusually desperate in his need to delve deeper into the blood tablet formula.

Aido's aura grew a little stormy as he felt he could hazard a guess to the reason that the pureblood was so eager to improve his blood tablets. Yuuki's blood had been distracting him a lot of late, and at first Aido felt sure that Kaname must have been the one to spill it, no matter how much he knew the pureblood disliked the idea of creating ex-humans. Aido could simply not think it was another vampire; the entire population of the Moon dorm knew how much affection Kaname had for the human girl, whether they thought it was misplaced or not.

But the third time he found himself sensing her blood in the air, he was actually being told off by Kaname for one of his many careless remarks on how blood substitutes just weren't enough for him.

One of the other vampires was drinking from her, Aido was sure, and the thick white bandages she covered her neck with dispelled any doubts that may have arisen. He wondered if Kaname knew who was drinking from her, and why they weren't dead yet. Actually, it was a surprise that _she _wasn't dead yet. If Kaname had been any other pureblood he'd have destroyed her for sharing her life's blood with another, after he had made his love for her almost embarrassingly clear.

Aido sighed, rubbing under his eyes in mild fatigue. His firm grasp on medical science meant that his opinion was sought by many, and he was used to his fluctuating sleeping pattern. However, he had been working on his project for Kaname exclusively for almost a day, and though he had sworn not to give up until he found the answers he needed, he might need to break his promise anyway.

He stretched, deciding to check just one more tome before he gave up and retreated to his bed. He pulled a large, heavy book with a blue binding towards him, flicking through it intently.

Kaname was lost deeply in thought, wondering what he could do about Kiriyu. It was rather obvious that Yuuki cared for him deeply, so even though his every instinct screamed to rip the boy's throat out, he knew that the ex-human's death would quite possibly break her. He was afraid to think, would she choose him, or Kiriyu? It was a moot question anyway; one that he wasn't going to have answered any time soon.

He hoped that Aido might prove successful in his research, though he seriously doubted it. He was hoping to find a blood substitute that might agree with Zero's body, putting a temporary stopper on his bloodlust, even if it would do nothing for his disintegrating mind. He hated that Yuuki had to sacrifice her blood, but also knew that to interfere would be to push her away.

In a brief loss of control, Kaname found his fist reducing his desk to splinters. He ran both hands through his wavy, raven hair. Little shards of mahogany flew upwards, as Kaname's powers pieced the desk back together without any conscious decision on his part. It was so frustrating, in a way. Kaname had nothing against Kiriyu personally, though he knew the boy held a piece of Yuuki's heart, but the ex-human just made it so hard for anyone to approach him, _especially_ vampires.

He could feel a deep thread of regret whisper through him, at the thought of what had been done to the hunter. It had not been Zero's fault, but nor had it been Kaname's. If only there was some way to reach out to him, so he could reach out to Yuuki too, stop both of them from hurting. But he feared that the stubborn ex-human would rather become a level E than accept the help of a member of the race that ruined his life.

Kaname's wine coloured eyes flickered towards the curtains, which were drawn to protect his sensitive, pale skin from the burn of the morning sun. With a wave of one slender, well manicured hand, they twitched aside. Kaname flinched slightly as the weak sunlight drew twin prickles of pain from his retinas. Yuuki should be heading to her first class now and he wanted to see her, free from the usual gaggle of loud, squealing Day class girls that unfortunately seemed to appear every time they met on the school grounds.

She could be a while, he knew. It depended on how long she'd had to spend herding the Day class girls back to their dorms. Whilst he waited, he reached into his top desk drawer, hand searching. His questing fingers alighted on the slim pill box containing his blood tablets, and he shook two of them out onto his palm. He held one up, studying it.

Sometimes it seemed to be a futile effort. The tablets would never become a widely used blood substitute, they simply did not give the partaking vampire the same satisfaction as drinking from a person. The tablets were bland, and most of all they lacked the intimacy and the dominance that were obtained through blood letting. Unless he could create something that other vampires might want to consume of their own volition the co-existence movement would never expand past Cross Academy. He knew that it was only used within the school grounds because a Kuran was promoting it, but even his considerable influence could not force them to be accepted outside of his syndeo. Still though, he had to try. He had almost secured the support of another pureblood, but whether the man would carry through with his promises was another matter entirely.

He let the pills drop into the crystal wine glass that had been forced to reassemble itself after his earlier recklessness, somehow managing to still hold the same amount of water it had started with. Sometimes it was good to be a pureblood, though it more often felt like shackles, tying him to a way of life that he did not necessarily wish to lead.

Yuuki hardly kept a regular schedule at the best of times, but she still hadn't left for her classes and it was late, even for her standards. It sparked a small glow of worry in the pureblood's chest. His concern was only exacerbated when the heady, intoxicating scent of her blood assailed his senses without mercy.

_Ah, she must be feeding Kiriyu,_ he thought, slightly peeved. It had only been a short while since he'd last fed. He supposed that Yuuki was most likely safe; Zero seemed to care for her almost as much as Kaname did himself. He would never hurt her. _At least, not intentionally__…_The last thought haunted him, but he forced himself to dismiss it.

Kaname's pupils had dilated widely. He had managed to construct a heavy barrier against these instincts, and so he calmly swirled his wine glass, allowing the crimson to spread completely within the small body of water. He drank it swiftly in two large gulps, which helped, somewhat dulling the effect Yuuki's blood tended to evoke in him. He waited silently for her to emerge from her dorms, for the scent of her blood to diminish as she covered the wound. It became clear that neither of these things were going to happen any time soon.

That flutter of panic was back, twisting in Kaname's stomach. He stood up, straightening the crisp white shirt that he was wearing instead of his school clothes; his classes wouldn't be starting until sundown, after all. He rushed to the door of his office with vampire speed and the door burst open as he touched it with his will.

Kaien Cross stood staring at Kaname with a somewhat shocked expression; the pureblood was a master of concealing his emotions and it was rare to see him in such a state.

"Kaname… Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly. The pureblood looked immaculate, his wavy hair sitting perfectly and his clothes looking smart enough to be mistaken for his business outfit, but something about Kaname's stance screamed of unease.

"Ah, yes," Kaname replied, a little surprised to see Cross standing outside of the door he had all but slammed open. "I'm a little busy, perhaps we could talk later?"

"Umm, Kaname, did you forget? We have two new students starting today," Cross began, consumed with concern. If there was something Kaname was not, it was a scatterbrain. "Miss Chie Nakamura is starting today, and you agreed to talk with her about the Night class. She's from Akihiko's syndeo."

Kaname's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He had been rather counting on the support of the other pureblood's syndeo and he could not believe he had been as stupid to forget that he was greeting one of his nobles. It seemed that Yuuki and Zero were playing much more heavily on his mind than he'd first thought. He would have to leave Yuuki for now. As much as it pained him to do so, he would be pretty much destroying any chance of co-existence if he did not show hospitality towards the young noble. Besides, Zero may be getting worse, but he still had a little time left before he slipped completely. She could probably be safe with him. _It would still be nice to know for sure__…_

"She is waiting downstairs," Cross continued with a slight frown. He reached out one hand and hesitantly patted the vampire on the shoulder. He knew the pureblood had been extremely stressed of late. "Are you sure that you're okay?" his tone was gentle and his eyes held Kaname's with an unmistakeable expression of concern.

Kaname shrugged off the other man's worry and assured that he was fine. In truth, he was grateful that Cross was helping him with the co-existence movement. The look in his eyes had actually made Kaname feel a little touched.

Kaname followed Kaien to where the noble vampire waited for him, hoping fervently that he could wrap this up quickly.

Zero thought he might die, and at the moment he actually wished he would. He was a monster. He should never be allowed to inhabit the same world as the beautiful, kind girl that was lying at his feet. He leaned slightly, brushing some of her chestnut locks away from her face with one trembling hand.

After leaving his dorm he had ran into Yuuki. She was waiting for him, apparently. Being the sweet, considerate girl that she was, she had been worried for him when she didn't see him leave for his class. When she saw the tightness of his expression she understood his delay, and quickly offered her blood to him.

He had not wanted to drink from her, not in this state. There was too much of a chance that he would hurt her irreparably, and he was not willing to risk it. But she hadn't listened to him. She had only wanted him to feel better, but she did not understand the danger she was evoking. He turned her down again, pushing her out of the way as he headed towards the door. He had known that he had to leave, _right now_, or the temptation would override his control.

It was then that Yuuki had forced him to do the unforgivable. Lifting her hand she had scored two thin lines into the skin on her neck, freeing the blood that flowed beneath. Zero's world dissolved then into a heavy haze of scarlet. He could think of nothing, see nothing, feel nothing but the steady flow of blood pouring into him.

His senses had not returned until Yuuki's slight frame had collapsed against him, her slender body completely slack in his arms. In his total horror he had immediately withdrew from her, letting her fall to the ground.

He now knelt over her, trembling all over as he looked upon the hideous wound he had inflicted. It was almost an exact duplicate of the one he had witnessed Shizuka brand him with only minutes ago in his nightmare. With that thought he lost the last shreds of his control, and he broke into a series of hiccupping sobs, with fat, salty tears inching down his cheeks. He was in danger of throwing up.

One hand tried to hold the wound closed whilst the other searched for her pulse. It was beating, but faintly.

Kaname eyed the girl wearily. Her appearance was that of a girl no older than seventeen, but something about her told Kaname that she could not have been younger than a century. She was an extremely beautiful vampire, and her designer dress spoke of her family's considerable wealth. Kaname was not familiar with her family name, which was surprising as she seemed to be quite well regarded by Akihiko Honda if he was sending her into Kaname's syndeo. She was not a pureblood, but it was very clear that her bloodline was a powerful one, and he made a mental note to get Seiren to look into the young woman.

She held herself with the effortless grace that came with good breeding, and she regarded him coolly with hint of open curiosity. It was as though she was sizing him up, perhaps in regard with her own pureblood master, or perhaps more likely, _for_ him.

Her hair was snow white despite her youthful looks, and it somehow only added to her pleasant appearance. It fell to the small of her back in an elaborate style that must have taken her an age to complete. Her eyes held his with an unreadable expression dominating them, and at first he took them to be a sapphire blue. When she turned her head slightly, though, they seemed to change colour to a hue of sea green.

She bowed slightly, letting her pale fringe fall over those stunning, canted eyes.

"I am Chie Nakamura. I'm here at Akihiko Honda's request, and I shall serve you in any way I can. I already have sufficient knowledge of your blood tablets to begin helping you with them immediately."

Kaname listened to her round off the rest of her resume, considering her whilst she spoke of her expertise. Although he could not pinpoint it, something about her screamed of potential danger. He was not gullible enough to trust a member of another pureblood's inner circle in any case, but she rang unusually loud in his senses. All vampires were attractive, but she was more so than usual with her slender yet curvy figure and her cute, round face and high cheekbones. Somehow this only made her seem more of a threat, and Kaname decided to make sure extra eyes would be watching her during her hopefully brief stay.

"That's excellent. You shall be joining the Night class here at Cross Academy, in order to increase the efficiency of our current blood substitutes. A resident of the Moon Dorm will be arriving shortly to lead you to your new residence. I hope you enjoy your stay here and I will hopefully see you later." Kaname turned; finally ready to see to Yuuki whilst the woman dropped another respectful bow.

"Oh, one more thing," Kaname started as an afterthought. Chie turned those hypnotizing eyes on him again. "While you are staying here you are to live on blood tablets only. There will be no feeding on campus."

The girl's face twisted in an unhappy expression, though Kaname was certain she had been told such before she was sent to the Academy by her master.

"Of course," she replied, after a silence that lasted longer than was comfortable, her face once more washed of all detectable emotion. "I will of course follow the rules of your syndeo whilst living under your hospitality."

Kaname did not doubt that she would follow the rules. She would not dare to disobey a pureblood; the punishment would not be worth it. He still disliked her hesitation, though. The girl was a supposed member of the co-existence movement though she appeared unwilling to even stop feeding from humans. It was a bit of a contradiction.

"Yes, of course," he replied. He somehow felt uncomfortable as he left, as though he had left a raging fire unattended to wreak as much havoc as it wished. As it was, though, he could not leave Yuuki any longer. He had to employ all his restraint to not simply flee from the room to her side.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer= **I don't own Vampire Knight, obviously. And once again I'd like to stress that this story is loosely based on Blackened Wing's duet series, rather than the actual manga. So if some stuff doesn't make sense you should check out her stories. They are awesome. 3

Also, I haven't read much of the manga past the second volume, and even that was a little while ago, so if some stuff is very OOC then you'll know why. ^_^'

Oh, I have used the title 'sama' in this chapter to show how people react to Kaname, but it is probably the only one I'll use; I would screw it up otherwise.

This is my first story, so please review and let me know what you think. =)

Before he had time to even register the presence of the pureblood, Kaname's hands were wrapped around his throat, pushing him back against the wall. His fingers were practically claws, tearing into Zero's neck and releasing little beads of blood.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Kiriyu?" the pureblood's voice was silky and dangerous as he calmly blocked off Zero's airway. His scarlet eyes were glittering with malice as they hovered barely an inch from the ex-human's face.

Kaname had been a little worried, but had not really expected to find anything too serious. He had certainly _not_ expected to see Yuuki sitting on the floor, blood pouring from her shredded throat as she struggled to hold herself up. Zero had been hovering above her, whimpering, face coated with incriminating crimson. He might have killed the boy right then if Yuuki had not been watching. Fury rose to the fore, clouding all other judgment.

He backhanded Zero using enough force to smack the other vampire's head into the wall with a resounding thump. The ex-human glared up at him, face tearstained, eyes wide and scared, yet still managing to convey that special hatred he reserved especially for the pureblood. He looked feral, eyes flickering madly between blood red and their usual amethyst. His fangs had lengthened to their fullest and Yuuki's blood dribbled from his chin in sticky tendrils.

Zero had still been sobbing when Kaname had arrived, but much as he tried to, he could not stop the humiliating tears. In spite of everything, the ex-human was a truly abject figure.

Kaname didn't care. Yuuki's blood was everywhere, driving him crazy, and now Kaname wanted to make _Zero_ bleed, to make him pay. His fist shot out again, catching the other vampire in the chest. There was an audible crack as Zero's ribs snapped under his balled fist. The ex-human doubled over, wheezing and sobbing in pain, fear, disgust, and a multitude of other jumbled emotions.

"No!" Yuuki's weak cry tore through Kaname like a stake of ice through his heart. He had been on the verge of losing his own control, of stooping to Zero's level, and that terrified him. He always ruled himself with rigid, unwavering restraint, but for a moment he had almost allowed his emotions get the better of him. He stepped back from the other boy and tried to gather himself, running a hand through his sheet of ebony hair.

Yuuki was trying to stand, using one hand to push herself up, the other still wrapped tightly over Zero's fang tracks. Kaname reached his hand down to her and she grasped it gratefully as he gently hauled her to her feet. She folded against him in an effort to remain upright, panting raggedly.

"Kaname-sama, it's okay. I let him, in fact I practically _forced_ him…" she began weakly, her big hazel eyes holding his earnestly. He had not missed the title Yuuki had addressed him with, and he felt a ridiculous jolt of loneliness. He wished, not for the first time, that the formal way she now spoke to him would melt away to the easy, casual manner that used to be between them. But it seemed that those days were over.

"It is _not_ okay, Yuuki. The gift you have been giving him is precious, yet he abuses it without remorse," Kaname's voice was gentle but serious. He shot Zero a look of utter contempt. The other vampire had slipped down the wall until he had ended up on the floor, still gasping heavily. His lavender eyes found Kaname's, void of any emotion other than bitter regret and self-hatred. He once again found his feelings torn between outright loathing for the hunter, and pity.

Yuuki's hands were wound tightly in the material of Kaname's shirt as her breath puffed raggedly against his chest. He reached out and pressed some of her silky hair away from her neck. The wound was still leaking liberally and had not started to congeal at all. The pathetic picture Yuuki made disgusted him, he was so sick of the ex-human partaking in her blood so brutally.

"I will return to speak to you later, Kiriyu," he said, voice icy and disdainful. "Come Yuuki, we must see to your wound." His voice was gentle as he spoke to the barely lucid girl in his arms, a total contrast from the tone directed at Zero.

"And Kiriyu, head back to your dorm room. I don't want you exposed to any further temptation until I come back." Kaname supported Yuuki as they headed through the door without waiting for Zero's reply.

"And this is the common room," the tousle haired blonde finished, waving his hand in a gesture toward the luxurious room. Aido had gotten roped into showing the new girl around through his one of his many impulsive, and undoubtedly ill-advised, actions. He hadn't wanted to, preferring to continue his work for Kaname on his own. He felt it an insult that he was gaining the help of another vampire. To make it worse, she was also from another syndeo. What was Kaname thinking? Didn't Kaname trust his academic ability?

His opinion had been revised when he got a good look at the woman in particular. She was truly stunning, and Aido's irritation had quickly evaporated to be replaced with his natural playboy attitude. She wasn't making it very easy, however, tending to ignore him entirely, or when an answer was mandatory, respond with an icy, aloof manner.

Her bloodline was only slightly more powerful than Aido's, but she appeared to be treating him in a way similar to how Aido would treat an ex-human. It was starting to irritate the young noble, but Kaname would certainly reprimand him if he showed her any hint of disrespect, so he tried to keep his feelings neutral, though he could feel the indignant anger simmering in his chest.

Aido was fairly hoping that the common room would be full, perhaps alleviating the uncomfortable tension that had descended upon them. Unfortunately Kain and Ruka were the only vampires present, and they seemed to be rather engrossed in some sort of academic project. Both were settled comfortably in one of the large, cozy, and no doubt highly expensive sofas that decorated the Moon dorm common room. There was a heavy scattering of papers on the coffee table placed before the couch, and the pair of them were searching through them, occasionally removing a sheet from the haphazard pile.

They didn't look in any hurry to help him out, so Aido decided to take the initiative.

"Kain, Ruka, this is Chie Nakamura. She'll be staying here with us."

Kain and Ruka glanced up with identical expressions of mild annoyance, before flashing the new girl a curious glance. Not really wanting to spend any more alone time with Chie, Aido settled himself down on the sofa next to Ruka. She threw him a scathing look, one that he had become immune to because of its constant appearance when he was around.

Kain sighed, before greeting the vampire with a casual, "Hey." His attention was still firmly fixed on whatever he was working on. Ruka rose to greet Chie politely.

Chie replied to them in the same unsociable way she had spoken to Aido, chilly and distant. With her snowy hair and apparent disdain for the nobles of Kaname's syndeo, she actually reminded him slightly on Zero. Aido found himself smirking inwardly; he could imagine the hunter's face if he knew he had been compared to a vampire, and a high ranking noble, no less.

"I'm sorry you got saddled with Aido," Ruka began, only half joking. She spared him an accusing look;_ I hope you haven't screwed this up for Kaname-sama._ "Would you like to join us…?" She gestured one slim hand to the sofa opposite theirs.

"No," Chie said simply. She turned towards the marble staircase to her own designated room, high heeled shoes clacking loudly on the steps. She faltered shortly, turning to address them again. "When my ex-human arrives, guide him to my room," she said, tone demanding, before continuing to her chambers.

"H-hey! You can't bring a level 'D here!" Aido called after her, only to receive Chie's door slamming shut for an answer. He turned to Kain, blushing furiously. He was used to girls squealing with adoration when he was around (apart from Ruka, who'd taken an instant dislike to him) and he didn't really know how to react to the new vampire.

"Did you see that?" Aido asked, obviously offended.

Kain was back to his studying, and answered with a noncommittal, "Yeah," and a shrug. His body language was clearly telling Aido that he wanted him to leave so he could get back to his work, but his cousin was never great at noticing hints.

"I mean, have you ever seen someone so... so irritating?" Aido exclaimed, a light scowl painting his features.

Ruka snorted derisively, shaking her head.

"Look, Aido, if you've got a problem with that girl, go take it up with her." Kain didn't even bother to look up from his sheaf of paper, still searching for the elusive information that he required.

Aido gave an I'm-so-not-appreciated-here sigh, folding his arms. "Alright then, maybe I will," he said petulantly, stalking off after Chie.

"Aido! Don't you dare! You'll upset Kaname-sama's relations with the Honda syndeo!" Ruka called after him, rising from her seat to stop him physically if need be. The young vampire really could be a completely impulsive idiot sometimes.

"Don't worry, I'll be diplomatic!" Aido called back. It was Kain's turn to snort this time as his cousin rapped loudly on the noble woman's door.

Yuuki winced slightly as Kaname wrapped gauze tightly around her throbbing neck, careful not to apply too much pressure. He had numbed her pain with his powers, but it hadn't been enough to remove the pain completely. He was kneeling before her, whilst she sat on a hard Day class chair, one hand still resting on his shoulder for support. It unavoidably reminded her of the first time Zero had fed from her. Even back then, when he was still struggling against his vampire nature, she had not been afraid. But it seemed like he was closer to a level 'E than Kaname had first thought. She was ashamed to admit to herself that his earlier loss of control had been truly terrifying. Everyday there seemed to be less human, less _Zero_ in his eyes, and more vampire.

Kaname was unsure of how to move next. If the younger vampire did slip, it could lead to chaos in the Academy. Who could possibly know how many Day class students could wind up dead before he was caught and destroyed. Kaname knew that Zero was incredibly strong for a vampire of his station, but once he slipped every last bit of his personality would die forever to be replaced with a never ceasing thirst. What was worse was that he was under the control of Kaname's syndeo, so whatever Zero did, Kaname would ultimately be the one held responsible.

The sensible part of Kaname's mind searched for a solution with clinical detachment, and concluded that the wisest move would be to kill the hunter now, before it was too late. Yuuki may hate him, but it would save his political position and eliminate the chance of a massacre at the Academy.

The emotional part of his mind baulked at that, he needed Yuuki, needed to feel that there was at least one person who cared for him because of who he was, and not _what_ he was. He briefly allowed his mind to consider binding him, but he knew that he would shove Yuuki away just as hard with such an action. Also, deep down he knew that binding a person to his will was disgusting, another thing purebloods could do that alienated them, made them feared by the rest of the world.

That left only one option, the last one Kaname actually wanted to act upon, but if it was necessary, then he really had no choice.

Kaname slipped a silver safety pin through Yuuki's bandages, holding them gently in place as he finished up. She had perked up a little, but was obviously still feeling faint.

"Thank you," she said softly, lightly fingering the stiff material wound over her aching throat. Her hair was matted with blood, and she needed to get cleaned up before another vampire was pushed into bloodlust by her sopping uniform. Zero had been in such a frenzy that he'd spilled a lot.

"Please don't be mad at Zero, Kaname-sama," Yuuki pleaded, her brown eyes finding his ruby gaze.

Kaname didn't answer, he was mad at Kiriyu, in fact he was _furious_. But he didn't think it would be best to tell Yuuki so right now. He stood up, taking in the blood stains on his white shirt. They were starting to turn a coppery colour as they dried in, but Yuuki's blood still smelled very appetising. It was a torture to be completely surrounded with such temptations, and Kaname longed to get away, but he would never leave Yuuki until he was sure she was fine.

Yuuki understood Kaname's silence for what it meant, and also understood that she would not be able to change his mind about it either. She felt a huge swell of sadness envelope her, knowing what this ultimately meant. Zero was starting his descent into the first stages of level 'E madness. She felt somewhat guilty too, Zero had not wanted to drink, but she hadn't listened to him.

She hung her head in shame. Had she tried to help quash Zero's transformation, only to speed it up? She wasn't sure, but the mere possibility that all she had done was make things worse was unbearable. Kaname's hand found hers, the warmth of the contact somehow reassuring.

"Are you alright?" Kaname asked as he helped her to find her feet. She nodded, sparing him a faint smile, though it did nothing to hide her misery.

"Listen, Yuuki," Kaname began, "I don't want you feeding Zero anymore. He's too unstable, too dangerous."

"So what are you going to do next time he goes into bloodlust?" she asked, voice heavy with bitterness that was directed at the situation, not Kaname himself. "Are you going to kill him...?" her voice faltered a little.

"No."

Yuuki looked at him in surprise. She was trying to hold the tears back because she knew deep down that Zero would not keep his sanity much longer. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to give him my blood," Kaname replied with a calmness he certainly did not feel, and almost definitely did not mask his reluctant unease from Yuuki.

Zero sat on the slightly damp grass by the lake, letting the cool autumn wind tug at his silver hair. He probably should have taken the pureblood's advice; it was certainly the most intelligent thing to do, but he was not in the mood to cooperate right now. His anger was almost totally focussed on himself, and he dealt with it by being as stubborn and irritating as possible toward all the bloodsuckers at the academy.

It was becoming clear that he now was one of those bloodsuckers. He shuddered at the thought, and not just out of prejudice either. It was very possible that today was his death day; slipping up as badly as he had earlier signalled the proper beginning to his transformation. It would be logical for the pureblood to kill him now, before he totally lost it.

He allowed his concentration to drift to the lake, he didn't want to have to think, not about the fact that Kaname was going to kill him soon, or that he'd almost killed the girl he loved. He just wanted to forget. The ache in his chest was not making it possible, however. He had taken a lot of Yuuki's blood, so his broken ribs had already set, but his skin was still badly bruised and tender.

The sunlight was weak, but beautiful as it hovered above the crystal water. Cherry blossoms grew on either side of him, arching up above him as they shed the last of their pretty amber leaves. The surface of the water was rippling in the breeze, throwing sparkling rays of light at him. At least in this he was different, the sunlight held no pain for him, not like it would a born vampire. He dipped one fingertip into the glittering pool, enjoying the chilly sensation against his skin.

"Are you Kiriyu?" a male voice asked.

Zero jumped. The only person he was expecting to see was the pureblood, but he hadn't sensed any vampires, and Kaname's aura would be incredibly strong to the hunter. Besides, the voice didn't sound familiar.

Zero turned to see who had upset his short lived peace. A sandy haired boy stood behind him. He was wearing a black Day class uniform, but Zero had never met him before.

"Who are you?" Zero asked, not bothering to be civilized.

To his irritation the boy plopped himself down on the grass beside him. Now that he was so close Zero could sense a very small, faint amount of vampire in the other boy. It seemed he was a hunter. Had he come to destroy Zero? Had the hunters already been alerted? Zero had thought Kaname would be the one to do it, but it seemed the pureblood didn't like to get his hands dirty.

"I'm Kanji Takahashi," he replied.

"So? What do you want?" Zero asked abruptly.

"Yagari told me about you," the hunter said by way of an answer, looking at him with eyes the colour of storm clouds. "I just wanted to meet you."

Zero glared at him, still trying to work out just what the hell this boy wanted. His explanation had not been at all helpful. The hunter just sat there, looking out over the lake.

"What are you talking about?" Zero finally asked when it seemed that Kanji wasn't going to leave him alone.

"I used to train under Yagari, until I was ready to work on group missions, and he told me a lot about you. He said you were one of his best students, but when I asked what happened to you he told me you'd died," the hunter told him. "Then I started here, because the hunters wanted a representative for the co-existence movement. I was really shocked when someone told me that a boy named Zero Kiriyu was one of the Day class students. I wanted to see if it really was you, so that I could tell Yagari you actually were still alive. He always spoke fondly of you, you see."

Though Zero knew what the older hunter thought about him now he was a vampire, it still hurt to hear someone he thought of so highly pretend that he was dead. Of course, he was actually _worse_ than dead in Yagari's opinion, his old teacher had proven that to him when he'd held a hunter weapon at Zero's face without any hint of reluctance. His swirl of wildly mixed emotions began to rise again. He just wanted this boy to go away so that he could hate himself in solitude.

"Is it because you were bitten, turned into a vampire?" the hunter asked quietly.

_Crap... _Zero had forgotten that the other boy could easily sense him as a vampire because of his hunter abilities. Vampires could not see him for what he was because his hunter blood was more pronounced than his vampire blood. The only reason that Zero had kept his secret for so long was because he, headmaster Cross and Yagari were the only hunters on campus.

_You'd think Cross might have mentioned something about a new hunter, _Zero thought irritably, especiallyone who might be sharing his class.

Zero could probably have blocked his vampire presence from the hunter, but he'd had his mind on other things. Even though he had been quite rude to the boy earlier, he was disgusted that Kanji now knew of Zero's vampire side. He would probably hate him even more than the ex-human hated himself, if that was at all possible.

"Yes," Zero responded.

Kanji considered him for a while, letting an awkward silence hang between them. The sun was more or less completely obscured by now, and the sky promised rain. Zero was shocked that the other hunter was still sitting beside him, if their roles had been reversed, he would probably have been repulsed by the idea of spending time with a level 'D. But when the blonde finally spoke, his words shocked Zero.

"I'm really sorry," he said softly.

Zero snorted angrily, turning so he was face to face with the boy. "Don't give me your false sympathy! It annoys the hell outta me! When people say that they loath me, at least I know how they really feel," Zero shouted at him, lavender eyes glaring. Kanji didn't react, just sat there calmly.

"The same thing happened to my mother. She was bitten on a job. When they found her she'd almost bled to death. Everyone wished she had, except for me." Zero's senses were not as adept at picking up hunter emotions as they were with those belonging to vampires, but he could feel a small prickle of anger spreading from the hunter. If he could feel it, then the emotion was _very_ strong. Zero wasn't sure what to say, so he just listened instead.

"She tried to go on with her life, but when the hunters cast her out of their ranks, she just lost hope. Her bloodlust started to get out of control. Dad had been feeding her, and she had been taking the blood tablets, but it wasn't still enough to keep her sane. One day, she just... went berserk."

"I remember that we were all eating together, me, mum and dad, and she was fine. But then, all of a sudden, she wasn't. She threw me to the ground, pinned me down and started to bite me. I can't remember much after that, but when I came round she was nothing more than a pile of dust. Dad had killed her to save me, and I hated him for it. I was only a kid, I didn't realise that he did the only thing he could. All I knew was that he had killed my mother. I never spoke to him again; he was killed on a mission shortly after..."

"I'm sorry," Zero said, a little bewildered at being told so much by someone he'd only just met. Still though, Kanji's words struck a chord in him; they had both lost everything at the hands of a pureblood.

The hunter shrugged, "I just wanted you to know that I don't hate you, I hate the bloodsucking bastards who destroyed my family and yours."

Both of them sat in silence while it started to drizzle, gazing out at the lake. Zero felt strange, he had never expected anyone to understand him, let alone a hunter. But he had to admit that it felt nice to realise not everyone hated him.

_A/N= I know things are going a little slowly, but please bear with me. I plan to have a lot more going on in the next chapter. =) _

X


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer= **_I do not own Vampire Knight. And once again, this story is based on Blackened Wing's universe. Also, sorry for any parts that are OOC. ^_^'_

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Kaname was disappointed but not surprised to find that Zero had done the opposite of what he'd asked. It annoyed him that the hunter would put himself and others in danger just to spite the pureblood, but it was the action Kaname had half expected the stubborn ex-human to do.

Zero's room was a mess. The bed was unmade with most of the sheets hanging on the floor and a number of tasteless (in Kaname's opinion, at least) clothes lay scattered just about everywhere. The pureblood sighed and seated himself on Zero's desk chair. Zero was the only Day class student to have his own room, for obvious reasons, and that was the only reason he got away with leaving his room in such a state.

Kaname would have to wait for the other vampire to come back. Zero had been in bad shape earlier, and he would probably need blood again soon. Kaname's anger had dwindled slightly; he knew that Zero had next to no control over his bloodlust, and had actually showed extreme strength in stopping when he did.

Kaname had grown up knowing that he had to be in control of every situation. As a pureblood, if he allowed another vampire to show dominance over him things could go terribly wrong, and aspects of Kaname's past had only proved that lesson. He did not like the idea of being vulnerable with Zero, who made no attempt to disguise his loathing for the pureblood. It was a stupid fear; even if Zero was drinking from him, he would still be the one with the superior power. If Zero got a little too bloodthirsty, it would be very easy for Kaname to take the reins of the situation. But the thought still made him shudder. In vampire society what Kaname was going to do was akin to losing his virginity, and that was certainly not an experience he wanted to share with the headstrong ex-human.

Zero's curtains were thrown wide open, but evening was already flowing to night and the window showed only midnight blue sky. It had been pouring earlier, but the rain had finally ceased. Kaname glanced out, searching for a sign of the silver-haired vampire and finding none. He did, however, see Yuuki walking past. She was looking a lot better now, though the thick gauze around her throat rather highlighted her injury.

Yuuki was going to go patrol on her own tonight, against Kaname's wishes. He knew he could not stop her and the ex-human from contacting each other, but he still wanted to keep her away from Zero as much as possible. Cross was already trying to find a replacement for Zero through a list of the Day class students, and had finally decided to drop the burden onto the shoulders of another young hunter.

Kaname was uneasy about having another hunter on campus, especially working in close quarters with the Night Class, but the co-existence movement would never work if he allowed himself to act on prejudice. If Kaien could allow a pureblood vampire a chance, then Kaname should certainly return the favour.

After almost an hour had passed, Kaname considered leaving and just forgetting about the ex-human, but the chance someone could get hurt was too high. He only restrained himself from going out to find the hunter in case they missed each other.

The other vampire would more than likely be contrary about the whole thing, despite the magnitude of Kaname's gift. If he had to, he would force Zero to drink. Even spilling one drop of his pure blood should push an ex-human over the edge into a state of bloodlust. Pure blood was irresistible to other vampires, the sweetest, most delicious substance known to their kind.

It was also very powerful, and if it was consumed could give the drinker a tiny portion of Kaname's vast power. That was the only reason he would offer himself; his blood alone could slow Zero's descent.

His musings were interrupted when Zero swept the dorm room door open. His amethyst eyes caught Kaname's without surprise. He hadn't forgotten that the pureblood wanted to talk to him; he was just going out of his way to be annoying. Kaname thought it was something that Zero had become incredibly skilled at.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" he said by way of greeting as he stormed past Kaname. He was soaked, water dripped from his hair in little rivulets and his clothes were sopping. It looked like he had been in the lake for a swim.

"I think the question is why _you_ weren't here?" Kaname asked wryly. Talking to Zero was always tiring, tonight did not look like an exception. "I asked you not to leave your dorm, Zero. It was for your own good, but just to spite me, you saw fit to spend your time getting drenched outside. It pains me to know that you'd put others in danger just for a lame attempt to irritate me."

Zero plucked one of the crumpled shirts off of his bare mattress to rub it over his hair, in a half-assed attempt to dry off. "God you really _are_ an egotistical freak. Everything isn't always about you. I was talking with the new kid and lost track of time, not trying to hurt your stupid pureblood pride."

Kaname took it that Zero meant Kanji, the new hunter, and not Chie, the new noble vampire. He didn't like the idea of the two hunters together; they could well be planning something. "Of course," Kaname answered dryly, receiving another glare. "Zero, I need you to come to the Moon Dorms with me, and it's important so please spare me the argument."

"Why?" Zero asked suspiciously, still toweling his mussed silver hair with the black t-shirt. His crude habits mildly appalled Kaname, but he decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter. They were in Zero's room, so the boy was free to act as uncouth as he saw fit.

"Because there are scent charms there," Kaname replied unhelpfully, getting out of his seat and heading to the door. "Come, Zero," Kaname said, his voice unintentionally demanding, before realizing that it was possibly the worst way to address the ex-human.

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Aido pressed the door open to reveal one of the more luxurious dorm rooms, feeling a tinge of apprehension. Chie had not given him permission to enter, but he didn't want to stand there on the landing with Kain and Ruka staring at him, and just opened the door anyway. It wasn't locked, so he took that as a good sign.

She was sitting at the end of a massive four-poster bed, riffling through her Prada bag. She glared haughtily up at Aido as he entered.

"What do you need me for? I did not expect the discourtesy of being assigned to a research project on the very day I arrived," her voice was polite but angry.

"Uh, no... We don't start work until next week," Aido answered.

Chie arched one pale brow, "Then you have nothing of importance to inform me of?"

"Well, it's just that, uh..." the girl's big opalescent eyes held his, beautiful and deadly. "Kaname-sama doesn't allow level 'D vampires to attend the Academy; they're too unpredictable."

"Hmm... I see. But then what does Kaname-_sama_ do when people have a violent reaction to the blood tablets? Does he disown them from his syndeo for something they cannot help or change? Your pureblood is undeserving of his title; he is not enough of a vampire, or a man to run a syndeo alone." Chie removed a pencil from her handbag and began touching up the kohl that rimmed her eyes whilst glancing into a small hand mirror.

Aido looked at her in shocked disgust. If she hadn't been a girl, Aido would probably have punched her right then. _How DARE she speak about Kaname-sama that way! _Aido may not always follow Kaname's rules to the letter, but in his eyes, Kaname was practically God. The young noble just stood there gaping, unsure of whether to give in to the impulsive action he _wanted_ to take, or the diplomatic one he _should_ take. After careful deliberation he decided that turning her into a giant ice cube probably would land him in serious trouble, not least because she would more than likely kill him before he got the job done.

Instead he settled for scowling, "Your disrespectful comments aside, you _knew_ that you couldn't bring an ex-human here. So what do you think you're doing?"

"He didn't tell you? I'm surprised. Kuran doesn't treat his little lapdog very well, does he?" Chie asked condescendingly. "I got his personal permission to bring Daisuke here. He is not my blood supply, but merely a servant awarded to me by Akihiko-sama. He is quite mentally stable, and will be helping with the blood substitute research too."

Aido hesitated. It was unlikely that she would lie about that. Despite her clear dislike of Kaname, it would not bode well for her to fake his approval. He was a little hurt that Kaname had not alerted them to the arrival of a level 'D. But then again the pureblood had a lot on his plate right now.

"My ex-human will be here soon, so be a good little vampire and direct him to my room," Chie said.

Aido conceded that the best thing to do was comply, and stumped sulkily back down the stairs. The common room was empty by the time he came back. He sighed and dropped himself onto the sofa Ruka had been occupying earlier.

It was beginning to get dark outside, and the Night classes would be starting soon. It seemed that the unlucky young noble would get in trouble whatever he did; if he stayed here, he would miss the start of his class, but if he left Chie would be angry, and therefore Kaname-sama would be angry. Aido decided that since he was already here, he might as well wait. He reclined on the couch, resting his head on one arm.

After spending the entire day on research which had ultimately turned up nothing new, Aido was exhausted. He didn't really notice how tired he was until he was resting on the soft sofa cushions, and before he could stop himself he had drifted off.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Yuuki felt horribly vulnerable as she headed back to her room in the darkness. It wasn't the first time she had patrolled alone; sometimes Zero would be too far lost to his bloodlust to be surrounded by simpering Day class girls. But for the first time since she had gotten to know Kaname she felt a little nervous at the thought of being near so many vampires. Zero had ripped her neck quite badly, and though she had washed and changed, a faint scent of blood still hovered around her. It shouldn't be enough to send a noble into bloodlust, but the apprehension still nestled in her chest.

She trusted Zero, no matter what. He had stopped himself before it was too late, after all. But she could understand why Kaname was doing what the things that he was, even though she hated the thought of him sharing his blood. No matter what Kaname said, he was more important than her, and it pained her to think of his pure blood being spilled for her sake. She was not naïve enough to believe that Kaname would be feeding Zero if she wasn't involved.

But on the other hand, she was glad that Zero was going to get a chance to become more stable.

Yuuki was jerked from her thoughts as her spine tingled in warning. There was someone nearby. She had already gotten the Day class girls to return to the Sun Dorms, even if they were very reluctant to go. However there was always a chance that one or two of the girls had sneaked back for another glance at the gorgeous vampire boys.

There was a rustling from the trees to her left, and she turned glancing into the dark shadows that streamed from the balding trees and the few evergreens. Zero may hate being an ex-human vampire, but there were some small perks. Right now Yuuki really envied his night vision.

She headed forwards slowly, feet scuffling lightly over the golden leaves that carpeted the ground. Panic was now fluttering freely in her chest, and she forced herself to think rationally. Really, what was she expecting? A level 'E that just happening to be lurking about in the trees when she was walking by? Kaname always knew when there were level 'E's around his syndeo and he destroyed them before they could become a threat to the co-existence movement. Besides, a level 'E would not have the intelligence to get past Cross Academy's protective charms.

All that reasoning hadn't helped one bit; she was still petrified, but she carried on anyway. As she walked forward into the thick shadows, a boy emerged from the trees. The moon was high and almost full, throwing silver light over his features. Because he had been standing in the shade, it looked like he had just materialized in front of Yuuki. She almost squealed.

"W-what are you doing out here?" Yuuki asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide how startled she had been. She took in his Day Class uniform and realised that he must be new to the Academy. Boys were not found in the Night Class area as much as girls were, but there were still some extremely attractive girls in the Night Class so it wasn't totally unheard of.

She guessed that he had been trying to get a peek at one of the vampire girls, and added, "You should go back to your dorm room. This area is off limit for Day class students, _especially_ at night. I'll let you off this once, because you're new here, but you should get back right now."

"Hey, relax," the boy began, obviously very aware of how he'd frightened her, which was mortifying. "You're Yuuki, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Yuuki replied.

"I'm going to be working with you as Zero's replacement. I'm Kanji Takahashi," he gave her a brief, but genuine smile.

"Oh!" Yuuki said. She was a little miffed that Kaname had gone to the trouble of removing Zero from his duties without telling her. "Um, nice to meet you, but why are you hiding in the trees?" In the slight darkness the other boy actually looked a bit like Zero, his light hair painted silver with the moonlight.

"I wasn't hiding. Well... I _was_, but I wasn't spying on you or anything. I sensed a level 'D around here and decided to check it out," Kanji answered.

"You can sense vampires?" Yuuki asked. Zero could, but that was because he had been a hunter. _Oh..._ "You're a hunter then?"

Kanji answered with a nod. "It wasn't hard to sense this 'D, he was pretty thirsty," he said.

_Wait... The only level 'D here is... Oh crap!_

"Was it..." Yuuki had come close to letting Zero's secret slip, but she was still concerned over him. Besides, Kanji was a hunter. If he and Zero met, and that was a likely scenario seeing as they were both in the Day Class, then Zero's cover would be blown anyway.

Kanji saw the conflicting emotions on her face, and took a guess at what she was going to say. "It wasn't Zero," he said softly. "I met him earlier, and this vampire feels different."

"You met Zero?"

"Yeah. He's a good guy, even if he is a vampire," he said, smiling again.

Yuuki felt an overpowering swell of happiness at his words; it would be nice for Zero to have a friend other than her. It was also great that Kanji was a hunter. Zero may act indifferent, but he secretly craved approval from other hunters. What had happened with Yagari had left a deep scar on Zero, and it was only one of many. But perhaps if Zero found friendship in Kanji, it would go some way to healing those old wounds.

"Wait! The 'D is coming this way!" Kanji grabbed Yuuki's sleeve and pulled her into the cover of the trees. Yuuki stood close to Kanji, relying on his eyes. He was totally still, she couldn't see him, or even hear him breathing.

After about a minute Yuuki heard footsteps approaching, crackling on the autumn leaves. She felt a wild mixture of excitement and apprehension, but she somehow felt safe with Kanji. Eventually the vampire strode past, coated in the milky glow of the moon. Yuuki almost gasped aloud. The man was absolutely stunning. He had ebony hair that fell to his shoulders, cut in layers with a long fringe and his skin was ghostly pale. He wore a short sleeved black shirt that contrasted nicely with his skin, and it was apparent that he had a toned, lean figure. If Kanji had not already warned her of the vampire's station, Yuuki would have mistaken him for a noble.

Yuuki felt Kanji start forward and she grasped the back of his black uniform. "Hang on," she hissed as quietly as she could, "isn't it dangerous to approach a hungry vampire unarmed?"

"No, I've stored hunter charms in my body. You'd better stay quiet or he'll hear us," Kanji whispered back softly. He stalked forwards, somehow managing to keep his feet from falling on the crunchy leaves and avoiding the silvery patches of light. It seemed that he was chosen as the hunters' representative for his talent.

Yuuki watched him press towards the vampire without following, she was sure she would be too noisy to help him keep his cover. He swept up behind the vampire, grasping one of his arms and twisting his arm up behind his back.

"What are you doing here, _vampire_?" Kanji's voice rang out strong and clear against the silence of the night.

Yuuki finally stepped forwards, approaching the hunter and the vampire. Just as she had suspected, she made a _lot _more noise than Kanji. The vampire looked totally calm, perhaps even bored. He turned to look at Yuuki as she approached, exposing the other side of his face. This time Yuuki did gasp. His otherwise perfect appearance was marred by a thick scar that completely covered his eye and ran down his face to curve under his chin. It looked like a burn scar, and a horrific one at that.

"My name is Daisuke Yamazaki, and I am permitted to be here. Now get off me, _hunter_," the ex-human said, intentionally using the same infliction that Kanji had used on the word vampire. "If you'll take your hands off me I could show you," he said dryly.

Kanji released the vampire slowly, and the man turned to him. Kanji's eyes widened at the scar on his face, but if the ex-human noticed, he didn't let it show. He reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper and proffering it to Kanji. The hunter took it and glanced through it briefly.

"Well, I've never heard of her, but it looks legit," Kanji said, returning the sheet. "I didn't think level 'D's were welcome in the Night Class."

"Hang on," Yuuki said, struggling to keep up with the situation, "you've never heard of who?"

"The noble that _owns_ him," Kanji answered bitterly, shocking Yuuki a little with his tone.

"Yeah, whatever," Daisuke answered. "Look, can I go now?"

"Yeah, but we'll accompany you to avoid any trouble," Kanji said.

"The only trouble that I've run into so far has been you, actually," the ex-human replied wryly.

"You misunderstand me, vampire," Kanji said, "I didn't mean trouble for you. I can smell your thirst, even if you aren't displaying visible signs of bloodlust yet."

"Ah, that's hunter logic. You know I'm in need of blood, so you stall me from going to take my blood tablets. But if it makes you feel better, you can tag along with me."

The two boys started off towards the Moon Dorm. Yuuki wasn't at all entirely certain about the situation. Kanji had done all the talking and did not apparently require her help, but she was a school guardian too. She found herself following Kanji's lead, feeling a little bemused.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Alright," Zero answered, grabbing a jacket from the desk and slipping into it.

Kaname looked at him, torn between surprise and scepticism. He was sure that Zero would have baulked at the pureblood's suggestion; walking into the Moon Dorm was the same as walking into the lion's den in Zero's opinion. It was unusual for the rebellious hunter to be so cooperative. It was likely that Zero was up to something, but Kaname was not unduly worried. He had a lot more strength than the ex-human, and he doubted that even Zero understood the power that a Kuran had to command. Whatever the hunter was playing at would probably become clear soon anyway.

"Good," he answered, turning to leave. He grasped the metal handle, about to pull the door open when a hot, yet frosty pain began to spread from the base of his neck.

"You know me, Kuran," Zero's voice was hard and angry. "Did you really think that I'd let you kill me without putting up a fight?" Zero might have followed Kaname to his death earlier, feeling that his life was worthless, but since he had spoken with Kanji he realised that he didn't want to die. Not without exacting some revenge on the blood sucking assholes that had destroyed so much for so many. If Kuran was going to execute him, he would take the bastard down with him. He wasn't going to leave Yuuki in the hands of a pureblood, she was much too trusting.

He shoved the Bloody Rose against Kaname's neck harder, knowing that just the contact would be painful for the pureblood. His sensitive nose picked up the faint scent of burning flesh.

"Zero, are you completely insane? That stupid toy couldn't kill me," Kaname said silkily, not allowing the scorch of the gun barrel to get to him. It was getting incredibly painful, but he would not give Zero the pleasure of seeing him react. _Why do I even bother...? _

It was a little ironic that Zero had picked the time that the pureblood actually wanted to help him to attack. "I'm not going to kill you anyway," he added, figuring the hunter might value that bit of information and remove the hunter weapon from his neck.

"Really?" Zero asked sarcastically. "Then what was that shit about the scent charms in the Moon Dorms? I take it they _aren't_ to mask the smell of my blood, then?"

Kaname sighed, really wanting to smack the ex-human. If he had wanted the other boy dead he wouldn't have to bother with scent charms. If a pureblood killed a 'D, the council would simply assume that he had a good reason to. They would prefer to look the other way than disturb a pureblood.

The gun had not got the hunter charms on it, he would have simply pushed it away with the gentle application of his will, but as it was, trying to touch the Bloody Rose mentally was like trying to hold back a gust of wind with his bare hands.

"Actually, I have thought up a plan to help you regain your self control," Kaname said, turning about and smacking Zero's weapon arm aside faster than lightning. Zero managed to keep the weapon in his hand, but he staggered a bit under the power of Kaname's swipe. He raised the gun again, levelling it between the pureblood's eyes a couple of inches from the older vampire's skin.

Kaname was fast running out of options. He might have to resort to manipulating the hunters mind, though it was something that would only foster even more distrust in the ex-human. It was so frustrating that Zero had to be so difficult.

"I know that you don't believe that," Kaname started, trying to reason with Zero.

"God, why would you think that, Kaname?" Zero asked sardonically, the Bloody Rose steady in his hand.

Kaname ignored Zero's jibe. "Look the truth is that I do want to help you, and you might believe me if I tell you that I have other motives than keeping you healthy."

"And those other things are...?"

"Yuuki," Kaname answered simply, needing no more words than that.

For a moment it seemed Zero was still unconvinced, but then he slowly lowered the gun and flipped the safety on. He glared sharply at the floor, obviously still resenting himself for his earlier actions.

"Fine," Zero said, finally looking back up and Kaname. "But I'm not going into that viper pit without this," he waved the Bloody Rose.

"Alright, as long as you keep the safety on," Kaname replied. He turned again, opening the door and stepping into the hall, pleased to note Zero was following him at last, the Bloody Rose hidden somewhere about his jacket.

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_Thanks for reading, and please review! =)_

_Constructive criticism is welcomed! _

_X _


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